Just thought Id share the comment I made to a Jim Bendtsen post.: Im not saying the NYPD is without flaw, Im talking about the unrealistic idealism of the Mayor who doesnt understand what is needed to govern. We dont live in a perfect or perfectible world, and we are all flawed creatures, including the Mayor, the individual cops, the individual civilians, me and you. Growing up requires accepting the imperfection of our choices, against an ideal standard. Actually, it is a moral luxury (of the self-righteous smug?). BTW, I was just introduced to a troubling story by Ursula Le Guin, called Those Who Walked Away from Omelas, which Im still processing. (It is echoed in SnowPiercer, though SP is not a happy city.) But I do know this. Those who walk away are few, and they probably know they dont have a way to fix it. Maybe they sense (the truth) that to govern is to compromise, to take responsible is to make tradeoffs that can be criticized--even by the self-aware decision-maker, his or herself. It is part of the burden on the uneasy head that wears the crown. It is much easier to carp from outside (the authority structures), than it is to deal with the irreconcilable tradeoffs. Explanations of this impossibility are suggested by Arrows Impossibility Theorem, or Prof. Robert Dahls 1970 book After the Revolution?: authority in a good society, or Bob Daviss Podcast 280, which Im listening to right now.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:14:20 +0000
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